Process of making bottles and the like



M. NIVEN.

PROCESS OF MAKING B 0ITLE&AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 191a.

Patented Oct. 7, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' [72 g/67Zf07" 7ZZ/7765S,

M. NIVEN.

PROCESS OF MAKING BOTTLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1918.

1,318,170. Patented Oct. 7,1919.

2 S [TS-SHEET 2 onwsys MAXIM NIVEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OF MAKING BOTTLES AND THE LIKE.

To all whom it may corn-c171:

Be it known that I, MAXIM NIVEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Bottles and the like, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has to do with the manufacture of bottles of the type which I shall designate for convenience sprinkler bottles.

Before proceeding to a detailed explanation of the features of the invention, I will first explain in a general way certain features in connection with the present forms of bottles and present process of manufacture. so that the features of the present invention will be more readily and fully understood.

"The type of bottle which I shall designate as a sprinkler bottle is one which has its upper or neck portion so formed and constituted that the fluid or liquid which it contains will not run out or flow out of it and can only be removed in the ordinary procedure or use of the bottle by shaking the bottle so as to sprinkle its contents over the surface to which it is to be applied. Such bottles are used, for example, as containers for perfumes and other relatively rare liquids.

In order to properly perform their functions, the sprinkler bottles should have their upper or neck port-ions so constructed that the liquids therein contained will ordinalily be retained within them and prevented from flowing out therefrom by the capillary nature of their openings. That is to say, the opening in the neck of the bottle should be so small that the capillary attraction or surface tension of the liquid contained within it will prevent the simultaneous exit of liquid and the entrance of air to replace it. Under these conditions the liquid can not flow out of the bottle except by the application of an undue or excessive force suflicient to disrupt the surface tension of the liquid. and thereby cause a portion of it contained within the neck passage to be detached from the body portion within the bottle and thus released.

In the past it has been the practice to manufacture sprinkler bottles as bottles of ordinary construction and .without any pe- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. *2, 1919.

Application filed September 9, 1918. Serial No. 253,?79.

culiar formation or contour in their neck portions, the opening or passage through the neck portion being of full size, and the relatively small passage or opening has been provided by the use of a special stopper or plug removably inserted into said neck portion, which stopper or plug, being made of metal, has been provided with the relatively small openings desired. This arrangement or construction presents the serious disadvantage that in use the plug or stopper will frequently become detached from the bottle so as to uncover the large opening in the neck of the bottle and thus spill and waste a large portion of the contents.

Furthermore, the cost of manufacturing the complete article is relatively high on account of the nature of the stopper or plug and on account of the fact that it must be made from metal as a separate device.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a process of making a bottle having its neck portion so formed and constituted that the desired capillary passage or opening will be provided as an integral and permanent portion of the bottle, and without the necessity of using a separate and special removable stopper or closure.

In order that the present invention may be still further understood and its characteristics appreciated, I will state that it makes possible the use of what is known as lime or calcium glass in the manufacture of the containers having the small opening portion as an integral portion of the bottle.

Sodium and potash glasses present the advantage from the standpoint of manufacture that they are malleable and can be drawn out or shaped before the flame, whereas the lime or calcium glass presents the disadvantage in its use that it is not so malleable and is not so easily workable as the sodium and potash glasses. Articles made from lime or calcium glass are generally blown in a mold. and in fact under present day practice such glass can only be commercially used in this manner.

In the past it has been impossible to.manufaeture a sprinkler bottle having its neck portion and its sprinkler opening integral with its body portion and all made from lime or calcium glass. for the reason that there has not been available any process whereby the glass for such a bottle could be worked in the mold and the capillary opening or passage properly formed therein.

' For this reason it has in the past been impossible to make such a bottle from lime or calcium glass and therefore impossible to make suclra bottle as a commercial article for every day use.

It may, therefore, be stated that a further object of this invention is to provide a process whereby bottles of this nature may be made from lime or calcium glass and blown in a mold as distinguished from being made from sodium and potash glass and blown before the flame. This is a very important and radical distinction and one which will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains.

In blowing lime or calcium bottles in a mold, it has in the past been customary for the glass worker to take a suitable portion of the semi-liquid lime or calciuln glass on the end of his blow pipe, lay the same within the mold, the,two portions of which are then locked together, and thereupon blow the glass in the mold so as to compel it to take the contour of the mold. The blow pipe is then drawn out so as to produce a long neck portion tapering off in size as it recedes from the body portion of the bottle. Then while the neck portion is still hot, it is cut off at the proper point with a pair of pincers or the like so as to leave attached to the bottle portion only sufficient material from which to form up the neck ultimately desired. This pinching operation necessarily closes the neck to a greater or less extent, and, therefore, in the past it has been necessary for the blower or his assistant to open out the neck by the use of a suitable tool inserted into the end portion of the neck. This tool, upon being properly manipulated, serves to spread out or open out the passage through the neck and give the glass of the neck. the desired ultimatecontour.

It will be appreciated, however, that such a process and such a ste would be utterly improper for the manu acture of a bottle such as is herein contemplated, because the ultimate object to be attained is to secure a very small passage through the neck as distinguished from a relatively large one such as has been above mentioned. Consequently, the manufacture of the bottle of the "present invention from lime or calcium glass blown in the mold has necessitated the provision of some special means and special step not heretofore known, and the present invention contemplates the use of such a new step.

Therefore, in practising the present invention and method, instead of spreading apart the material of the neck while still in hot condition and after it has been pinched off in the manner previously explained, I still further contract the neck and its material and I form up the very small opening or passage desired, not by an expanding or broadening operation but rather by a contracting and simultaneous finishing operation. Such a step and such an operation are, of course, to be clearly distinguished from that previously practised in the manufacture of bottles of the ordinary type.

In some cases I contract the neck material around a suitable needle or pin of proper size so as to give the proper contour to the exterior portion of the neck and simultaneously form the passage therethrough, whereas in other cases I contract the material of the neck to such a complete degree as to completely close the same and thereafter provide the desiredsmall passage by forcing a needle or pin longitudinally through the still soft material of the neck.

In order that the present invention may be more fully appreciated, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a bottle embodying the features of the present in vention, the interior surface of the bottle being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal fragmentary section through the upper or neck portion of the bottle of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a view similar to Fig. 2, it being, however, a modified form of the neck portion;

Fig. 4 shows another view similar to the views of Figs. 2 and 3, it being, however, a still further modification;

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a neck forming instrument or tool for practising the features of the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows a plan view of the tool similar to that of Fig. 5, and shows the manner of its application to the neck portion;

fied form of tool in which the opening or passage through the neck is formed by forcmg the needle longitudinally of the neck aftgr it has been fully contracted and closed; an

Fig. 8 shows a fragmentary longitudinal section through the end portion of the tool of Fi J6.

Re erring first to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the features of the present invention are therein illustrated in reference to their use in connec-tion with a glass bottle of familiar form. This glass bottle comprises generally the body or container portion designated in its entirety by the numeral 10, and the neck portion designated in its entirely by the numeral 11 in each case. The characteristic feature of the present invention is that the neck portion 11 in each case is provided with a longitudinal passage or opening 12, establishing communication with the interior of the bottle, which passage is so small, as shown in the several figures, that the liquid contained within the bottle can not flow out on account of the capillarynature of the opening. The exact size of this opening'will vary slightly in different cases, but as a general rule it will not exceed approximately one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The exterior contour of the neck portion may be of. any form desired, and in fact in Figs. 2, -3, and 4: I have shown simply by way of illustration three distinct forms of the neck. Many other forms might be adopted than those illustrated, and I do not by any means limit myself to these or any other forms.

Ordinarily the outsidegf the neck portion will be of the customary size and m fact such a condition is shown in the several figures. This means that the material adjacent to at least a-portion of the passage 12 Will di arily be relatively thick, which fact is clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The thickness of the glass will ordinarily taper 011' in the direction of the body portion of the bottle, as shown by the numeral 13 in each of the Figs. 2, 3, and 4. 1

In the form of neck shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a nipple or terminal portion 14 is provided onto which'a cap of rubber or the like may be mounted so as to hermetically close the opening upon occasion. This hermetical closing of the opening is not necessary to prevent the loss or wastage of liquid from the bottle in the ordinary course of events, but it is sometimes desirable to place such a hermetic closure at the end of the passage 12 when the bottles are to be shipped a considerable, distance in filled condition. In

such cases. the arring and vibration to which they may be subjected might occasion a slight loss or'wastage of the liquid and it is for the prevention of this loss that a hermetic closure is sometimes temporarily desirable.

In the-form of bottle shown in Fig. 3 an enlargement 15 is provided at the upper end of the capillary passage 12, this enlargement '15 being suitable for the accommodation or reception of a little rubber ball or the like which can be shoved down into it to secure the hermetic sealing action.

In the arrangement shown in Fig a disk-shaped enlargement 16 is provided at the upper end of the passage 12 for the accommodation of a washer or disk which may be temporarily inserted therein to give the hermetic sealing action. It is to he understood, however, in all of these cases that the hermetic sealing action is only temporarily used, and that to all practical intents and purposes in the ordinary use of the bottle, the liquid will be retained p therein on account of the capillary nature of the passage through its neck.

It has been previously explained that it is very desirable to be able to use lime or calcium glass blown in the mold and that the splccessful use of this material necessitates t e forming up the neck portion after the body of the bottle has been blown in the mold. I will now explain the construction of tool herein illustrated for this purpose, but in so doing I wish it clearly understood that I do not intend to limit myself to this or any other tool except as I may do so in the claims.

Two forms of tool are illustrated, one of them in Figs. 5, 6, and 8, and the other in Fig. 7. In each case a pair of jaws 17 and 18 is provided for simultaneously working on the diametrically opposite portions of the soft neck material. These jaws 17 and 18 areconveniently formed as the end portions of a pair of arms l9 and 20, the other ends of which are joined together by a spring or resilient portion 21, so that the jaws are normally spread apart, as shown in Fig. 5. Suitable hand grips 22 and 23' are provided, so that the jaws may be clamped together in an easy and convenient manner.

The adjacent faces of the jaws are formed of such contour that when the jaws are clamped or forced together with the neck material of the bottle between them, and

then the bottle spun or rotated, the exteriorportion of the bottle will be given'the desired contour and the material of the neck clamped together. Consequently I have illustrated, in Figs. 5, 6, and 8,the recesses 24 and 25 in the jaws, which recesses cooperate in the manner previously explained when the jaws are clamped together. v

In order to give the proper contour to the end of the neck and form upthe same in the proper manner, an abutment plate or member 26 is supported at the proper point between the jaws. This is conveniently done by mounting or forming said plate 26 on the end of a rod or bar 27 between the'jaws, the rear end 28 of which rod or bar is connectd to the central portion of the resilient section 21, so that the plate 26 will always retain the central position between the jaws 17 and 18. Across rod 29' may 'be secured to the rod 27 and work through suitableopenings in the jaws or arms 19 and 20 so as to assist in guiding the parts and secure the proper relative cooperation.

Now means must be provided as previously explained for forming the capillary opening or passage through the neck, either while the material of the neck is being clamped together, or afterward. I have previously explained that, according to present rocesses in which the passage is large, it is customary to ,open or widen out the said passage after the material of the neck portion has been pinched together, and I have explained that my process difl'ers from prerovision of some special means for I yious processes in this that the neck portion 1s clamped together, and its volume materially contracted so that the small capillary opening is formed, not by an expanding operatlon, but rather by a clamping and contractmg o eration.

The too shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 8 is provlded with a needle 30 on the block or plate 26, which needle is very small and serves to form the capillary passage or opening simultaneously with the act or operation of clamping or contracting the material by compression of the jaws 17 and 18. The needle 30 may be made integral with the rod 27 and plate 26, or it may be made as a separate piece threaded into place, and this construction is the one illustrated in the detailed section of Fig. 8. It is a very desirable construction for the reason that on account of the relatively small size of the needle it will soon become burned or rusted, and its size thereby materially altered, so that it will be desirable to renew it long before other portions of the tool are worn out.

In the construction shown in Fi 7 means are provided for forming the capil ary opening or passage after the material of the neck has been so fully contracted as to completely close it and destroy any opening theretofore existing. This tool of Fig. 7 is provided with a longitudinal opening or passage 31 in its end portion, and a needle 32 is slidably mounted therein underthe control of a finger button 33 working through a slot 34: of the rod 27. By pulling the button back into the position shown in Fig. 7, the needle is fully withdrawn, whereas by forcing the button forwardly the needle will be proj ected into the dotted line position of Fig. 7, thereby forcing itself through the material of the neck and immediately providing the capillary passage. The construction of Fig. 7 presents in some cases the advantage that the capillary passage can be more accurately and more perfectly formed than by the use of a permanently projecting needle. If the needle be at all out of line, then the relative rotation of thetool and bottle will result in a wabbling action, so that the passage will be larger than the size of the needle itself. On the other hand by the use of a projected or movable needle such as shown in Fig. 7,

the passage will in every case be of the exact size of the needle.

In some cases, an enlarged portion may be provided at the base of the needle for the purpose of forming the socket or recess 15 or 16, as the case may be.

I claim:

1. The process for the manufacture of sprinkler bottles made of lime or calcium glass and having their neck portions entirely of glass and integral with their body portions and provided with a capillary passage or opening of very small size for the purpose specified, which consists in taking a portion of the semifiuid lime or calcium glass on the blow pipe, placing the same within a body mold, blowing the same to cause the glassto ssume the contour of the mold, drawlng out the neck portion, pinching olf the neck portion. to thereby compress the glass and leave a desired quantity of glass integral with the body portion, and thereafter forming up the neck portion with a caplllary passage by compressing the said neck material into the proper form for the finished bottle neck, and forming the capillary passage by forcing a needle of relatively small size longitudinally through the neck after said compression, whereby the capillary passage is formed during a compressing or contracting operation as distinguished froman expanding operation for the purpose specified.

2. The process for the manufacture of glass and having their neck portions entirely of glass and integral with their body portions and provided with a capillary passage or opening of very small size for the purpose specified, which'consists in blowing a suitable portion of the semifluid lime or calcium glass in the mold, drawing out the neck, pinching off the neck to thereby compress the glass and leave a desired quantity of glass integral with the body portion, and thereafter forming up the neck portion with a capillary passage by compressing the said neck material into the proper form for the finishedbottle neck, and forming the capillary passage by forcing a needle of relatively small size longitudinally through the neck after said compression, whereby the capillary passage is formed during a compressing or contracting operation as distinguished from an expanding operatlon for the purpose specified.

MAXIM NIVEN.

sprinkler bottles made of lime or calcium 

